Scrotal doppler ultrasound during evaluation for infertility

Abstract EN

Aim: the aim of the study is to clarify the incidental intra scrotal pathological findings during evaluation of infertile males depending on the clinical examination and Doppler ultrasonic scanning.

Patients and methods: A prospective case series study conducted in the radiology department of Al Batool teaching hospital from Feb.

2000 – Feb.

2003, where most of the patients referred from the infertility unit of the same hospital and evaluated by Doppler ultrasonographic scanning with (SIEMENS, SONOLINE Versa Pro, 7.5 MHz Linear array transducer) in supine and some times in erect position.

Results: The data of 1660 patients analyzed to different pathologies, their ages ranged from (18-60) years with mean of 23 years.

One thousand and four hundreds sixty patients (88%) were primarily infertile and two hundreds patients (12%) were secondarily infertile, seven hundreds and sixty six patients (46%) had abnormal findings on clinical and ultrasonic examinations of their genitalia, while nine hundreds and sixteen patients (54%) were normal.

The distribution and the frequency of different discovered abnormalities were studied; varicocele was found in (42.7%) of the patients and followed by testicular atrophy in (33.8%).Conclusion: Varicocele and testicular atrophy are the most common causes of primary as well as secondary male infertility and the color Doppler US is superior to physical examination in evaluating patients with infertility.Key words: infertility, testicular atrophy, varicocele, color Doppler ultrasound